The Savior
by danzilla3
Summary: The Quinx squad is tasked with finding out the truth behind the disappearances of a number of powerful ghouls. When their investigation steers them toward a mysterious figure known as, "The Savior," they begin to unravel a web of dark secrets that will have personal consequences for everyone involved.
1. Prologue

The minutes before a mission began were always the worst for Haise Sasaki.

There was just too much time to think. To wonder if he'd made some kind of mistake during the planning phase; some fatal flaw that he had somehow managed to overlook. Time to run through a thousand, "What if?" scenarios in his mind? Like what if he screwed up and got himself killed; or, god forbid, got one of his colleagues' killed?

The very thought made his stomach plunge like a runaway elevator. Dying was not something he wanted to do anytime soon; but it was an ever present risk of being an Investigator. Whenever you went out into the field you were taking your life in your hands. He knew and accepted that. The thought of one of his comrades paying the price for his mistakes however, chilled him to the core. He was certain that he would be crushed by the guilt that he would surely feel.

Of course such an error would have consequences beyond the emotional. Haise was well aware that there were those within the CCG that were very much opposed to the idea of him being an investigator. There was little doubt in his mind that they would cease upon such a tragedy as an excuse to get him fired.

Though he knew that would be the worst case scenario; the idea sent chills down his spine. The CCG was all he had. Without it he would be alone; a man with no past, and no future.

Nothing left to separate him from-

"You're nervous."

His mentor's voice pierced through the fog of his dark thoughts. He looked up to see Mado regarding him with a neutral expression from across the cabin of the van. She had obviously seen right through him; rendering any attempts at denial a futile effort.

Instead, he put on what he hoped was a confident looking smile and asked, "How can you tell?"

"You've been scratching your head for three blocks. You only do that when you're feeling troubled."

Sasaki hadn't even realized that he was doing that until she pointed it out. He pulled his hand away from his head and placed booth hands in his lap, hoping that he wasn't exhibiting any other nervous ticks he didn't know about.

Mado smiled, "You don't have to worry so much. Just keep doing what you've been taught, and you'll be fine. After all; you've survived this long haven't you?"

"I guess…" his answer wasn't convincing even to him. He expected the older woman to scold him; or maybe offer a little more comfort.

Instead she asked, "Rank 1 Sasaki. What is our current objective?"

The question caught him off guard. Sasaki was certain that Mado knew everything about their mission; right down to the smallest details. But the expectant look in her eye told him that it was probably a good idea to just answer the question.

"Our objective is to arrest Tsuchiya Tono." Sasaki quoted the briefing he'd been given verbatim, "In connection with the sale of classified material."

Mado nodded, "Tell me about him."

Sasaki repeated the information he had read in the man's file almost verbatim, "Tsuchiya Tono. Age 42. Single, no children. Former data analyst for the CCG. He went into hiding six months ago after stealing a wealth of classified material from a CCG database."

"The bastard almost got away with it too," sneered Mado, "Tell me why he didn't"

"Two weeks ago the police arrested a self-proclaimed, 'Facilitator,' of illegal goods and services. During interrogation he claimed to have set up a meeting between an ex CCG employee and a third party. The suspect then picked Tono out of a photo lineup; confirming him as the seller."

"And now here we are."

It took a moment for Sasaki to realize that she wasn't just referring to the end of their conversation; and that they had also arrived at the location given to them by the informant. He blinked twice and turned to look at his mentor.

Mado was smiling politely at him, "Still nervous?"

Something clicked in his head and he finally realized what Mado had done for him. This time he actually felt the confidence projected in his smile, "No. I'm good."

"Glad to hear it," the senior investigator grabbed the case that held her quinque and opened the door of the van, "Are you ready?"

Sasaki nodded, grabbed his own quinque, and leapt out of the van.

Tsuchiya Tono stomped out his fourth cigarette in twenty minutes. Before he had even finished grinding it out, he had his fifth one out of the carton and in his mouth. Seconds later he was taking his first drag off it; and for a few minutes he was able to beat back his anxiety and feel something close to calm.

What the hell was he doing here? How the hell was it that it had been six months after he'd stolen those files and he was still in Tokyo? The plan had been so simple. He would use his access as an analyst to steal some classified material, sell it to the highest bidder, and then spend the rest of his days drinking cocktails on some tropical island somewhere.

It was that damn, "Facilitator's," fault, he was sure of it. Tono had wanted to move immediately, but that jerk had convinced him to wait. Said that the goods were still too hot. Better to wait a few months until things cooled down.

What a load of shit.

A loud bang caused Tono to drop his half smoked cigarette to the ground. He looked frantically around for the source of the noise, but to no avail. He took several deep breaths and silently cursed his middleman once more. He was the one who had chosen this decrepit old apartment complex at the edge of the 20th ward for the meeting. The building was basically a giant twenty story square with a courtyard situated in the center. Though the courtyard was lit by the moonlight, the floors remained shrouded in shadow.

"Tsuchiya Tono?"

The analyst had almost managed to get his heart rate back under control when the voice broke the silence of the night. Once more he scanned the floors above him, but to no avail.

"Are you Tsuchiya Tono?"

The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Twice now it had said his name. He had no idea whether the voice was friend or foe; but he figured that he would only make things worse for himself if he stayed quiet.

"Y-yes, I'm Tono," he stuttered, "Are you the buyer?"

A few moments passed, and Tono wondered if he had said something wrong. His sweat began to soak through his dress shirt, and he wondered if it was too late to make a run for it.

"Turn around slowly."

Tono nearly jumped right out of his skin when he heard the voice coming from behind him. Never the less; he did as he was told and turned to face the source of the voice.

Standing no more than twenty feet away from him stood a figure that had to be six feet tall if he was an inch. He, (Or at least from the tone of the voice he assumed it was a he,) was clad all in black, save for the mask he was wearing. The top half of said mask was designed to look like the head of the wearer was covered in mummy like bandages, while the bottom half looked like the bottom part of a human skull. In his right hand he carried a large silver briefcase.

"Do you have it?" asked the masked man.

Tono puffed out his chest, and tried to sound more confident than he felt, "Show me the money first!"

The masked figure was still as a statue for a few moments before he tossed the briefcase through the air; landing at Tono's feet. Very slowly, the analyst knelt down and undid the clasps on the briefcase. He smiled the biggest smile of his life when he saw the contents of the case.

"Your turn."

Tono cleared his throat and shut the case. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small jump drive. He tossed the drive underhanded, and the figure snatched it effortlessly out of the air. The masked man then held it up in front of him, appearing to inspect the device.

"It's all here?" asked the Man.

Tono scoffed, "Do you want to check?"

The figure's gaze snapped back to the analyst, "Do I need to?"

Before Tono could stutter out an apology he was interrupted when another figure landed between him and the other man. This one was much shorter than the other one. This one also wore a mask, a top hat with a pair of large goggles over the eyes.

"They're here!" yelled the new one. Then before anyone could react he jumped to the right, easily reaching the second floor and then disappearing into the shadows.

"Whose here?!" shouted Tono, panic rising in his chest.

"The CCG," the masked man said matter of factlly, 'You've been followed."

In the fraction of a second it took for Tono to turn his gaze toward him the masked man had already closed the distance between them. He grabbed the analyst by the throat and lifted him up as though he weighed nothing. He tried to beg the other man to let him go, but he couldn't draw in enough air to form the words. The masked man stared at him for a second before turning his head away

"I'm sorry."

There was a loud snapping noise, and the last thing Tono felt was a sharp pain.

Sasaki saw the lookout for just a moment before the man retreated back into the apartment complex. He cursed and sped up, nearly leaving Mado behind him.

"What is it?" she shouted.

"We've been made!"

When he was ten feet away from the entrance Sasaki saw that the front gate leading into the complex had been chained shut. Knowing that they were short on time; and stopping to fiddle with a padlock would just slow them down even further, he made a snap judgement. He increased his speed even more before leaping into the air hitting the gate with a flying kick. The chains snapped under the impact, and the gates tore themselves from the hinges.

The white haired investigator slid to a stop just in time to see a tall figure wearing a mask release the body of their suspect from his grasp. By the time the corpse hit the ground Mado had caught up. She was already drawing her quinque as she came to a stop. The segmented whip like quinque lashed out at the figure.

The masked man leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack. He then jumped to the left, landing on the second floor balcony before pushing off again and landing on the fourth floor on the right side of the building.

Sasaki didn't hesitate. He repeated the process the masked man had used just seconds before. The two men bounced back and forth over the court yard as they ascended the complex. Sasaki wasn't slow; but the other man had a head start, and he disappeared over the edge of the twentieth floor with the investigator in hot pursuit.

As he reached the eighteenth floor Sasaki heard to voices talking to each other.

"I'm not leaving you!" the first voice said. It was high, but masculine. Almost like Juuzou's.

'I'll be right behind you, just go!" the second voice was much deeper. Most likely the masked man, Sasaki thought.

Sasaki reached the top to find the masked man waiting for him. There was nobody else in sight, so he assumed the owner of the other voice got away.

The remaining man's face was inscrutable beneath his mask; but Sasaki could feel his gaze on him just the same. He relaxed his posture and put on his friendliest smile, "I don't suppose you would consider surrendering?"

The masked man did not answer. Instead, he rushed forward. Sasaki had anticipated that response, and already had Yukimura 1/3 out of its case. He discarded the case as he drew the quinque, and smoothly transitioned from the draw to slash at his opponent. Sasaki swore he could see the moment where the masked man realized he had miscalculated, and would not be able to dodge the swing in time.

The man's response was to not even try. Instead he got his left arm up in the path of the blade. The razor sharp quinque sliced clean through the appendage at the forearm, but the ploy had worked. He had given himself enough time to surge forward and punch Sasaki with his right hand.

The air exploded out of Sasaki's lungs and he was sure he heard a cracking sound from his ribs. The impact went him flying away from his masked opponent, over the courtyard, and past the edge of the roof on the other side. The investigator was quick to react however, and his Kagune burst from his back to latch on to the edge of the roof, preventing him from plummeting to his death.

The immediate danger having passed; Sasaki allowed himself to dangle limply from his kagune. He gently prodded the spot where the masked man's fist had hit and winced with pain. He wasn't worried. He had survived far worse injuries during training. By tomorrow morning all traces of the wound would be gone.

"You planning to hang there all night?"

He looked up to see Mado standing on the edge of the building, arms crossed, staring down at him. He blushed a bit in embarrassment and began to pull himself up. When he got near the top Mado extended a hand; which he gratefully accepted.

Once he was back on solid ground his mentor asked him, "He get away?"

Sasaki nodded, "Yeah. And it's, 'They,' plural. There were at least two of them."

"So basically we failed to capture anyone involved," sighed Mado, "Damn."

Sasaki grimaced and looked down at his shoes. Before he could disappear into his own head Mado clasped a hand on his shoulder, "Let's get back. If we hurry we might be able to finish doing the paperwork before midnight."

Sasaki smiled and nodded, sparing one last look at the severed arm of the masked man before he walked away.


	2. Vigilante Ghoul

"Sorry for the wait."

Sasaki looked up from his book to smile at the waitress/manager of re: "Ah, thank you Touka-san. It smells delicious."

The young woman smiled back and gestured to the book in his hands, "Is that a new one? That's the second one this week!"

He laughed, "Yeah. Reading is my hobby so I go through books pretty fast. Besides, I just started this new series that I'm really enjoying."

"Oh?"

"Yeah the, 'Jason Bourne' series," he replied, "It's about an amnesiac government agent trying to regain his memories while being pursued by his old agency."

Touka tilted her head slightly, "That sounds pulpier then you're usual books."

She was right of course. But after having worked with his past self to defeat Seido Takizawa during the Auction raid; he felt like he could identify with a character trying to make sense of his past. Not that there was any way he could explain that to her without sounding like a crazy person…right?

Before he could pursue that thought further the bell above the door jingled; signaling the arrival of more customers. Touka politely excused herself; and went to greet the new arrivals. Sasaki sighed as he watched her go. His attention then turned to the cup of coffee still steaming in front of him.

Sasaki sipped slowly from the cup; careful not to burn himself on the hot liquid. As always it was delicious; and as always it provoked more than just a sensory response from him. The taste, the scent, it all served to create a deep sense of nostalgia in the young investigator. He knew it sounded corny; but when he drank this coffee he felt like he was home.

But the feeling wasn't meant to last. About halfway through the cup Sasaki felt the unmistakable feeling of being watched. Sure enough; when he looked up from his book he saw the re:'s other waiter, a man named Yomo staring at him from behind the counter. The older man realized he'd been caught almost as soon as Sasaki looked up; and he silently turned his attention back to the counter he was wiping down.

Sasaki knew that the man hadn't been looking at him. No, no matter how much it might have seemed that way to an outside observer, he knew that the waiter hadn't been looking at Sasaki Haise. He had been looking at Ken Kaneki, the man with whom Sasaki was currently sharing a psyche.

Truthfully, he didn't know why it bothered him so much. It wasn't like he wasn't used to getting such looks. It was a well-known fact among the higher ranks that Sasaki Haise used to be the ghoul known as Eyepatch; so it was a pretty common occurrence for him to be gawked at. So why did it bother him so much when it happened here?

Maybe because it reminded him that despite the sense of belonging he felt when he was here; this wasn't his home. Because no matter how much he would like to believe otherwise these people didn't care about him. To them, he was just a stranger in another man's skin.

" _It can't be easy for them either,"_ Kaneki's voice spoke from his subconscious.

Sasaki was embarrassed to admit that he hadn't given much thought to how Touka and Yomo felt about his visits to re:. In his desperation to learn more about his other self he had latched onto anything that might give him any kind of connection to his past. But now that he thought about it, Kaneki was probably right. It couldn't have been easy for them to be constantly reminded of their lost friend by his presence.

Before he could think more on the matter, Sasaki's phone buzzed. He withdrew it from his pocket to see that he had received a text from Akira.

 **NEW CASE. BRIEFING IN THIRTY MINUTES AT HQ.**

Sasaki was out of his chair before he had finished reading the message. He left the money to cover his bill on the table and made for the front door. He glanced behind him as he walked out. Touka noticed his departure and offered him a parting smile and a small wave. He returned both before he walked out onto the busy sidewalk.

There were two surprises waiting for Sasaki when he arrived at CCG HQ.

The first was that his team had somehow managed to arrive before him. Given the relatively short amount of warning he had given them; he had been almost certain that he would be the first to arrive. The second was that all the members of his team were present. Since it was barely ten a.m. he figured that they would probably be having this meeting sans Saiko; but there she was, barely awake and practically hanging off of Shirazu for support, but present.

The leader of the Quinx greeted his squad in descending order of friendliness. Mutsuki and Shirazu were both fairly chipper, and even Urie gave a rare nod of greeting instead of his usual scowl of displeasure. Yonebayashi was uncharacteristically quiet; though that was because she was barely awake. With pleasantries exchanged; the group got into the elevator and rode it to the appropriate floor.

The room Mado had chosen for the meeting was medium sized with a window that took up the entirety of the far wall. A large hardwood table ran the length of the room with chairs to the sides, and at both ends. At the far end of the table was a television with a DVD/VCR player and a remote control. Each seat had a manila folder in front of it; and there was a pitcher of water with six glasses in the center of the table. Mado waited for everyone to take a seat before speaking.

"Thank you for coming. If there are no questions then we can begin," there weren't, so she continued, "In the last six months we've seen a significant rise in incidents involving a particular Vigilante Ghouls."

"Um, excuse me," all eyes turned to Mutsuki; who blushed under the weight of so many gazes, "But what is a Vigilante Ghoul?"

"It's the designation we give to ghouls who make a habit of preying on criminals," Sasaki explained, smiling reassuringly at the young man, "Most often violent offenders; like murderers, rapists, and even other ghouls."

Akira nodded, "Right, and because of their relatively low threat to the general public they aren't usually considered a priority."

"That policy seems (Stupid) irresponsible," said Urie, "I mean, are we trusting ghouls to judge the guilty from the innocent now?"

"Besides that, even if they were only hunting the guilty; is it really right for us to say that criminals should be butchered like animals?" asked Mutsuki.

Akira folded her arms, "Neither of you are wrong. However, the CCG simply doesn't have the manpower to chase after every ghoul. Priorities have to be made; and when we have to choose between devoting resources between a ghoul indiscriminately slaughtering humans, and a ghoul that only targets a very specific subset of people, well…what choice would you make?"

The room went silent as the occupants considered their opinions. To Urie a ghoul was a ghoul. Eating habits didn't matter; they all needed to be destroyed as soon as possible. Mutsuki wasn't so sure. He could understand that such decisions needed to be made, but wondered how they knew they had chosen the right answer. Or was there even a right answer? Suddenly he was very glad that he wasn't the one having to make those kinds of choices.

Shirazu however, was still grappling with the issue of hunting and killing ghouls all together. He just couldn't get Nutcracker's last words out of his head. They had just been so…human. Completely at odds with the monster that he had always assumed that she and all other ghouls were. Saiko was still too groggy to be entirely sure what everyone was talking about; but she could guess from their tones that it was important.

"So why'd he get put on the to do list?" Asked Shirazu.

"A few reasons," Mado said, picking up the TV remote as she spoke, "The first of which being that he's starting to get media coverage."

Akira pressed a button on the remote and the screen blinked to life. Displayed on the monitor were a series of newspaper and online articles with titles like:

"THE SAVIOR STRKES AGAIN."

"SAVIOR: HERO OR VILLIAN."

"WHO IS THE SAVIOR?"

"They certainly didn't waste any time giving him a nickname," mused Sasaki, "But why, 'The Savior?'"

"According to the eye witness accounts in these articles, it's because of his habit of surprising other ghouls as they attack humans."

"What are the chances that any of these stories are actually true?" Urie asked, a note of skepticism in his voice.

"Better than you might think," said Akira, "The details of the encounters are nearly identical to each other. All describe being cornered by a ghoul, and having another ghoul intervene to rescue them. All give roughly the same description of the ghoul, a tall male dressed in black, wearing a skull like mask."

The mention of the skull mask stirred something in Sasaki, but he pushed it to the back of his mind so he could ask, "Do we have anything more…tangible on him?"

"I was just getting to that," Akira pressed another button on the remote and a black and white image of a street appeared on the screen.

"What's this?" asked Tooru.

'

"This is footage from an ATM in the eighth ward," explained Akira, "Specifically, it's the first known footage of the Savior in action."

The video plays for fifteen seconds before two people walk into frame; a young woman, and a young man. The two appear to be talking back and forth, one occasionally laughing at something the other said. Soon they reach the entrance to an alley and stop. The man gestures for the woman to go first, and she complies. The man begins to follow, but first looks to his left and right. He then reaches into his jacket and pulls out a mask.

"Uh-oh," Mumbled Saiko, who was evidently awake now.

The man puts the mask on his face. The design of the thing is simplistic; a model of a human face covered in a star pattern. Once the mask is secured the man turns to follow the young woman down the alley. The pair are almost too far away to be seen by the camera when the man grabs the woman from behind and throws her into one of the walls of the alley. The two figures struggle for a minute before the man lands a hard blow to the woman's stomach. She sinks to her knees and throws up. The man stands over her, staring. Then he raises his hand above his head to strike the finishing blow.

Suddenly a shadow drops a few feet away from the ghoul and his prey. When he turns to investigate he is suddenly flung with great force against the opposite wall of the alley. The shadow walks to the kneeling woman and roughly hoists her to her feet by one arm. It then half drags her to the entrance of the alley and lets her go. He apparently say's something; because the woman nods and then runs off screen. The shadow is now completely visible to the camera. He was dressed completely in black, and was wearing a mask that looks like a bandaged skull.

"It's him!" exclaimed Sasaki. Mado only nods, but the Quinx all turned to look at their mentor.

"It's who Sassan?" asked Shirazu.

Sasaki started to answer but, noticing activity on the video, pointed to the screen, "I'll tell you in a minute, look."

Back on the screen the ghoul known as the Savior watches the young woman as she makes her mistake. He abruptly sidesteps a lunging attack from the other ghoul. He then grabs the other ghouls head and slams it into the wall behind his attacker. The Savior takes a step back and hits the injured ghoul with a stomping kick. A massive cloud of dust obscures the screen as the wall behind the other ghoul gives way.

When the dust settles neither ghoul is anywhere to be seen. Then the wall of the building facing the camera explodes outward, and the first ghoul flies through it and comes to a skidding stop on the street outside. The creature, covered in blood and dust, is clearly badly injured. The Savior appears a minute later as the other ghoul tries to crawl away. In a few short strides the Savior catches up with his wounded opponent. The other ghoul looks up at him and starts talking to him. A minute later the Savior lifts his foot and slams it down on the other ghouls head, cratering the pavement underneath it. Without wasting a moment; the remaining ghoul hoists the others body over his shoulder and jumps into the air, leaving the scene empty.

"Damn," Shirazu says, his voice a near whisper, "That was brutal."

Mutsuki nodded and turned to look at Sasaki, "Did you recognize that man?"

Sasaki turned to look at Akira for approval before answering. When she nodded he spoke, "Eight months ago, we were tracking down a man suspected of selling classified data to outside interests. When we went to arrest him we found that ghoul standing over his corpse. He managed to get away, and the stolen data was nowhere to be found."

"So that's the real reason for the sudden interest in this guy," said Urie, "We think he's got our data."

"A simplistic way of putting it, but yes, that is the main reason," replied Akira, "Now that you've all up to speed, let's come up with a plan of attack for capturing this guy."

Urie spoke up first, "I think our first step should be to interview these eye-witnesses. There might be details that they left out of their stories that could prove crucial to finding him."

Sasaki nodded in approval, "Good idea. You four get started on that."

"What will you be doing?" asked Mado.

"I'm going to see if my prisoner knows anything about the Savior."

Mado frowned ever so slightly before nodding, "Alright. Let me know if she comes up with anything useful."

Sasaki nodded and he and his team began to leave before Mado spoke again.

"Wait. I almost forgot," she pressed a button on her remote and the black and white video on the screen was replaced with a picture of the ghoul who had been killed in the video.

"This ghoul was named, 'Zodiac.' For his habit of going choosing his victims by their astrological sign. He was an S-ranked ghoul. Given how easily the Savior dispatched him, we are also giving him a tentative ranking of S."

The Quinx nodded almost in unison before filing out the door.


	3. Investigation Ongoing

"Excuse me…Investigator?"

Mutsuki nearly jumped out of his chair at the utterance of his name. He had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he had somehow forgotten about the elderly woman sitting across the table from him.

"Yes?"

The old woman regarded the young investigator with a mixture of concern and confusion, "Forgive me, but you've just been sitting there for almost ten minutes without saying anything. Is something wrong?"

The young man mentally kicked himself for becoming lost in thought during a witness interview. To be fair, the reason he had become distracted was because he was trying to think of the right way to start. On the one hand, he didn't want to come off as cold or indifferent to what the witness had to say. On the other hand, he didn't want to be too lax and potentially miss important details in the woman's story.

It was moments like this that made Mutsuki question his mentor's judgement. Sasaki was well aware of his awkwardness in social situations; and while a witness interview wasn't exactly a typical social situation, it still involved more interaction with strangers than he was really comfortable with. Then again, maybe that was precisely the reason why Sasaki gave him assignments like this; to help him overcome those issues.

Either way, now wasn't the time to think about that. The old woman was beginning to look even more concerned, so he should probably try to reassure her.

"Everything is fine. I was hoping to talk to you about your encounter with this ghoul," Mutsuki pulled a photo of the vigilante captured from the surveillance footage and slid it across the metal table.

The woman picked up the photo. She squinted at it for a moment before saying, "Oh, you mean the Savior?"

Mutsuki frowned. The name really _was_ getting popular, "Um, yes. I know you've already been interviewed, but I'd like to go over it with you again if you don't mind."

The woman shrugged, "If you think it might help, then alright."

Mutsuki smiled a bit more genuinely this time, and pulled out a tape recorder from his coat pocket. The investigator flipped the device on and began to speak.

"The date is November 2, 2016. Rank 1 investigator Mutsuki Tooru interviewing Takarada Emiko," Mutsuki placed the recorder on the table and gestured for the woman to begin.

Emiko pursed her lips in thought before she began, "Well, it was a Tuesday, and I was watching the news just like I always do in the evenings. The first break had just started when I heard a knock at my door."

The elderly woman frowned as she recalled the memories, "I yelled out, 'Who is it?' and heard someone yell back, 'Takeout delivery!' Of course I was confused because I knew I hadn't ordered any takeout. But I didn't want to be rude, so I went and answered the door."

"I opened the door and this young man was standing there, wearing a jacket with some restaurant's logo on it. He was holding a bag in front of his face. Now that I think about it, the bag also had a logo on it; but it wasn't the same as the one on the jacket. Maybe that should have tipped me off that something was wrong. Maybe I could have…"

Mutsuki knew that it wouldn't have changed anything. He was familiar with the ghoul the poor woman was talking about. "The Deliveryman," had been an S ranked ghoul known for posing as food delivery people to get victims to open their doors for him. In the few cases where a victim had caught on to the ruse, the ghoul had simply forced his way inside their homes and devoured them.

The young investigator smiled in a hopefully reassuring manner, "We can stop if you need a moment to collect yourself."

Emiko returned his smile with a small one of her own, "No, it's alright. The sooner I do this, the sooner I can forget about it right?"

Mutsuki nodded, and the woman continued, "Well I told him that I hadn't ordered any food, but he insisted that I had. We went back and forth for a while before he asked if he could use my phone to call his employer. He said he'd forgotten his cell phone at home. I agreed and turned to go back inside."

The woman rubbed her shoulder unconsciously as she continued, "That was when he shoved me. I can still remember the force of it…he had pushed me from the front door to my living room, about twenty feet. I knew immediately that something had broken when I landed."

"He walked into my apartment and took off his hat and jacket. His eyes went black and he licked his lips, telling me that he was going to take his time. I've never been so scared, I couldn't even scream. I was sure that my time was upon me."

"Then something burst through the front door, knocked it right off the hinges. It was him, the Savior. Suddenly he was right behind the other ghoul, 'The deliveryman,' I think he was called. He turned around trying to backhand the Savior, but he was too slow. The Savior caught his arm mid swing, and just…held onto it. It took Deliveryman a few moments to realize his arm had been torn off at the elbow. I think he was going to scream, but the Savior hit him in the throat so hard that I heard the little bones crunch. He spat up blood. I was surprised at how red it was. I guess I thought it would be different from human blood. I don't know why…"

"The Savior grabbed him by the head and twisted it around to face me. His face…it was horrible. He was twitching uncontrollably, and his mouth was working like he was trying to say something, but couldn't get the words out. Then the Savior brought his elbow down on the top of his head. More blood sprayed into the air, and the other ghouls' body just went completely rigid. After a few seconds he went limp, and sprawled out on the floor."

"The Savior looked at the corpse and then at me. At the time I was terrified. I thought he was there not to rescue me; but to steal another ghoul's kill while he was distracted. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he asked me if I was okay. I still couldn't speak, so I just nodded. He said that was good, and then he picked up the body and slung it over his shoulder. He told me to call the police, and then walked out."

Takarada Emiko seemed to visibly relax, like finishing the story had released all the tension in her body, "That's everything I remember."

Mutsuki nodded, "Thank you very much for your cooperation Mrs. Takarada. Someone will be in to see you out shortly."

The investigator was about to walk through the door when the woman spoke again, "Are you trying to catch him? The Savior I mean."

Mutsuki wasn't sure what to say, so he hedged with a vague reply of, "He's part of an ongoing investigation."

Emiko looked down at the floor and said, "I hope you don't catch him. I'm sorry if it's wrong to say that, but it's the truth."

It certainly wasn't illegal to say that, and Mutsuki could understand why she might feel that way. He smiled, and nodded before leaving the room.

"I brought you a few more books. I hope you like them."

Hinami smiled at Sasaki as she took the books from him, "Thank you, onii-chan."

Sasaki didn't bother telling the young woman not to call him that. Partially because they'd had that conversation before, more than once, and he still couldn't dissuade her from it. But he also couldn't deny that part of it was because as he started to know her better, he had found himself minding less and less. How much of that affection was his own, and how much was the influence of Ken Kaneki he didn't know. But she was one of the few people who knew the truth about him who acknowledged that Sasaki Haise was a separate person from Kaneki, so he guessed that most of it was probably him.

Sasaki sat down across from the girl, "Are they treating you alright? Are they feeding you?"

Hinami nodded, "Yes, thank you. The guards are all very polite, and meals come regularly."

The room now became silent as Sasaki deliberated on how to proceed. He felt like maybe he should try to make more small talk, but that was hard because, being a prisoner, not much changed in Hinami's day to day life. He didn't want to seem rude, but he was struggling to come up with something non work related to talk about.

Almost as if she could sense his dilemma, Hinami smiled and asked, "Is there something I can help you with today, onii-chan?"

Sasaki nodded and pulled out a file to give to the ghoul, "I'm looking into a ghoul known as, 'The Savior.' I was hoping you might know something about him."

Hinami opened the file and looked at the picture within, "I know of him, although he didn't have a name when he came to our attention."

"We," most likely meaning Aogiri Tree. Sasaki pressed on, "What can you tell me about him."

"At first it started with stories, rumors of a ghoul in a skull mask hunting down other ghouls. Then he started targeting our members. The first attack was witnessed by two members who happened to be with the victim at the time. It wasn't long before the higher ups started offering a reward for his capture."

"Was there anything special about the members he killed?"

Hinami thought for a moment, "Only that they were all fairly strong. None of them were below an A ranking. The last one I heard about, a ghoul nicknamed Romeo, was an S."

"I'd heard Romeo had gone silent," said Sasaki, "But I just figured he was lying low for a while."

Hinami shook her head, "No. He managed to escape from the fight, but he had already been fatally wounded. He died at one of our safe houses."

 _Which would mean the Savior doesn't know he's dead._

An idea began to form in Sasaki's head. He got up from his chair, "Thank you for talking with me Fueguchi-san. We'll speak again soon."

Hinami nodded and smiled, "Take care onii-chan."

"So after he gets done curb stomping the poor bastard, he picks up the guy's body and runs off."

The conclusion to Ginshi's story was almost exactly the same as the other witness accounts the Quinx had heard. The Squad had regrouped in a meeting room at CCG HQ after they had all completed their tasks.

"So we have a powerful ghoul hunting other powerful ghouls and making off with their corpses because…why exactly?" asked a fully awake Yonebayashi.

"Maybe it's just a matter of personal preference," Suggested Mutsuki, "And he just likes the taste of ghoul better than human."

"If that were the case, then he could achieve the same goal at much less risk to himself by attacking weaker ghouls," Said Urie.


	4. Romeo O Romeo

The phone snapped him out of his slumber far too early for his liking. He was sure that he couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours when it rang. However when he turned over to look at the nightstand where the device lay, the digital clock coldly informed him that he had been asleep for a full eight hours.

The man groaned, but picked up the phone on the fourth ring, "Yes?"

"You sound tired. Did I wake you?"

The man grunted in the affirmative, and the voice on the other end of the phone spoke again, "Well, you said you wanted me to tell you when the test results are in, and they are, so I am."

Some of the man's irritation faded when he heard this, "Oh. Right."

"We can do it later if you want…"

The man sat up and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, "No, that's alright. Just give me twenty minutes to clean myself up."

"Sure. See you soon Ro."

The man known as Ro hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. He put the phone back on the nightstand and stretched out, a long yawn escaping in the process. When he opened his eyes again, the mask sitting on the desk across from him caught his eye. For some reason he always felt like the skull was looking at him through its empty eyes. He stared back for a moment before shaking his head and rising from his bed.

The room he had claimed as his own was a small but functional dwelling; enough room for a bed, a desk, and a nightstand. He had done little to cover the bare concrete walls as he had never seen the point of decorating it. He was only ever there to sleep, so why bother?

He walked through the doorway that led to the bathroom adjoined to the room and took in his image in the mirror. Leaning on the counter, he used his fingers to spread his eyes open. The orbs where white, the pupils green. Everything normal then. He let his eyes roam the rest of his reflection. He noted places on his body that should be covered in scars, but were instead absent of any such blemish. His brown hair had grown just long enough to be shaggy, and he had about a week's growth on his face. He would have to make time to shave later.

Stepping out of the pair of gray sweatpants that made up his sleep attire, he entered the shower and turned the water on as hot as it would go. After taking a few minutes to enjoy the feeling of the warm water, he quickly washed and dried himself. He dressed himself in black pants and a black long sleeved shirt before opening the metal door of his room and stepping outside.

The hallway leading to the laboratory was just as sterile as his room; all bare concrete with fluorescent lights lining the ceiling. Every ten feet or so there was a metal door leading to another room like his own, but he knew that only two of the others had occupants. Midway through the hall he stopped at one of those rooms and stared at the door. The words' "Z'S ROOM KEEP OUT!" had been spray painted on the metal in bright red letters. Ro considered knocking, but thought better of it. No need to wake him up needlessly.

He strode the rest of the way down the hall and walked through another door into the laboratory. The space was large; almost cavernous compared to the cramped personal quarters. Various pieces of equipment where placed throughout the lab. Ro knew very little about what most of them did, but at the far end of the room he found the man who did.

Akihiko Takashi looked like what most people probably thought of when they thought of brilliant young scientists. Early twenties, slim build, messy black hair. His standard work attire consisted of jeans and a t shirt with a white lab coat thrown over them. The young scientist had his face inches away from a computer screen, scrutinizing some kind of data.

"You know you'll go blind sitting that close to the screen," quipped Ro as he approached the man's workstation.

"That's a myth," scoffed Takashi. He turned in his chair to look up at his visitor, "Probably."

Ro smiled, "You can research it later. For now I'd like to hear about the test results."

Takashi's face fell and he slumped in his chair, "Another failure I'm afraid."

Anger and frustration hit Ro like a wave; and he had to restrain himself from giving in to the urge to smash a piece of expensive equipment. He settled instead for clenching his fists until he heard popping noises.

"Goddamnit!" he choked out.

Takashi for his part simply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "We knew it would fail. It always does. A year and a half we've been at this; and not one success do we have to show for it."

"What other choice do we have?" asked Ro, "We have to keep trying. Find another specimen."

"Another one?" Takashi laughed incredulously, "You think you're going to do better than Zodiac? He was an S rank ghoul, and as near to perfect a specimen as we've ever had."

"Do you have another suggestion?" asked Ro, his tone slightly heated.

"The same suggestion I've been making for over a year," said Takashi, "The hybrid option."

Ro sighed. He knew the young scientist knew as well as he did that the hybrid option was just as unfeasible now as it had been the last time they had discussed it. Ghoul-human hybrids where so rare that most people didn't even think they existed. This scarcity was the only reason they hadn't already tried the hybrid option.

"Unless you're about to tell me you've located a one eyed ghoul, then there's no point in discussing this again."

Takashi looked down at his shoes, "You know I haven't."

"Then why bring it up?"

"Because I had an idea," replied Takashi without looking up, "But I know you aren't going to like it."

Ro frowned, but gestured for him to continue, "Go on."

"Well I've been thinking and…we don't know where to find a one eyed ghoul," Takashi finally looked up at his friend, "But we both know somebody who might."

Ro had to think for a few moments before he realized what the young man meant, "No, absolutely not."

"He has more experience with hybrids than anyone else in the world. He's our best chance of finding one." said Takashi firmly.

"His help comes with too many strings," replied Ro, "I'm not that desperate."

"Yet," muttered Takashi, earning him a sharp look from Ro, "I'm just saying we're running out of time. You and Z are stable for now, but that won't last."

Ro was quiet for a long time before he responded, "Even if I agreed, I wouldn't know where to begin looking for him. He went underground. Nobodies heard from him in a long time."

"Isn't there anyone we could reach out to? He had ties to Aogiri; maybe we could ask them."

Ro smiled ruefully, "I'm pretty sure I burned that bridge when I started killing their members."

"The Savior killed their members," corrected Takashi, "And as far as they know you aren't him."

It was a good point. But Aogiri tree weren't morons. If they figured out that he was the Savior they would kill all of them. If they we're lucky.

After another long silence Ro spoke, "I won't dismiss the idea. But I'm also not quite ready to resort to it just yet. For now, find me another specimen."

Takashi sighed, but nodded, "Well if that's what you want to do, then I think I've already found us another one."

Ro raised his eyebrows, "Already?"

Takashi grinned and gestured towards his computer, "I was going through some leaked CCG reports like I usually do, and I noticed a memo mentioning that prostitutes in the 7th ward are going missing at an alarming rate."

"I'm guessing they think there's a ghoul involved."

"Your guess would be correct," Takashi started to pull up multiple windows on the screen, "The report goes on to mention a certain ghoul whose preferred prey are members of the oldest profession."

Takashi hit a button on his keyboard and a sketch of a figure wearing a troubadour hat and a blank white mask popped up on the screen.

Ro looked at the screen, "Is that…"

"Romeo, O Romeo," confirmed Takashi, "I guess he must have survived you're last encounter after all."

Ro nodded, "Any idea where he's holed up?"

"Way ahead of you. I did a geographical profile of the locations of the latest victims. There all within a ten mile radius of his old hide out."

"You'd think he'd find some other place to hide," muttered Ro, "But that saves us some time."

Takashi turned back to his friend, "You heading out?"

Ro nodded, "I should be back before long. Look after Z for me?"

"Of course," The young scientist held out his fist, "Be careful out there yeah?"

Ro bumped fists with the man and turned to leave. He had just walked into the hallway when heard a voice rang out in the tight space.

"Where we going?"

Ro turned to see a small figure standing in the corner next to the laboratory door. The boy looked to be about ten years old, with a mop of red hair. In one hand he held a top hat and a set of goggles.

"Eavesdropping again Z?" Ro asked rhetorically.

The child snorted, "I can't hear anything through that door. So where are we going?"

"I'm going out to fetch another specimen," said the older man, "You are going back to your room, or anywhere else you like within the confines of this building."

"Aw come on!" whined Z, "You can't go out without back up!"

"I got by for a long time before you came along pal," Ro chided playfully.

"But I can help!" protested the boy, "Remember back when we got that flash drive off that Tono guy? I spotted those CCG guy's before you even knew they were there!"

"Z…"

"And if I had been there when you went after Romeo we probably would have caught him!"

Ro sighed and knelt down to look at the boy face to face, "I'm not doubting your ability to help."

The boy frowned, "Then what?"

"I'm going without you because your still recovering from your last treatment," The older man held his hand up when the boy started to protest, "And don't even try to pretend you're not. This is the first time I've seen you out of bed in three days."

Z looked down at his shoes, "You shouldn't be going out alone…"

Ro put his hands on the boy's shoulders and smiled, "Hey, don't even worry about it. I had this guy before. I'll take him again no sweat."

"If you say so…"

"Hey now," Ro genteelly tilted the boy's head up to look at him, "Don't send me off with that frowny face. Give me a smile."

Z rolled his eyes, to which Ro responded by pouting and whimpering like a dog until the boy broke down and laughed.

"You are so weird."

Ro laughed and pulled the boy in for a brief one armed hug, "I'll be back soon."

Z smiled again and nodded before heading into his room and closing the door. Ro walked back to his room and picked up the skull mask on his dresser.

"Time to go to work."

"Target approaching. ETA two minutes."

Sasaki nodded to himself and spoke into his earpiece, "Acknowledged. Sasaki squad get in position."

The half ghoul investigator was perched on a steel beam in the abandoned warehouse that had once been a hideout to the ghoul known as Romeo. From here he could see the entire factory floor. Below his squad were moving into ambush positions to await the Savior.

While Sasaki had had the initial idea to use the deceased ghoul to draw the other ghoul out of hiding, he had to admit that he wouldn't have thought to falsify CCG reports to lure him in. That had been Hinami's idea, as she reasoned that the Savior was probably reading CCG documents to research his targets. It made sense, given how much the man seemed to know about his targets. She had also been the one to tell them about the hideout. Sasaki had been greatly pleased by the girl's cooperation, for the longer she continued to be useful, the longer he could make the case for her to remain alive. Though part of him was growing more and more concerned with how much he had come to care for her, he couldn't deny his desire to keep her from harm.

"In position," spoke Urie over the radio.

"Ready," said Mutsuki.

"Me too," said Yonebayashi.

"Same," said Shirazu.

"Wait for my signal," said Sasaki.

They weren't kept waiting long. Within two minutes a figure appeared in the wide doors of the warehouse. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt, black pants, and a black jacket. Most importantly, he was wearing the Savior's distinctive skull mask. It was him.

The next few seconds seemed to pass by in slow motion as the Savior gazed into the building. For a moment, Sasaki was sure that the team had been made. Then the man walked in. When he had walked about twenty feet, the trap was sprung.

"Now!"

On Sasaki's signal, the large sheet metal door slammed down behind the man in the skull mask. He spun around in surprise just as Urie and Shirazu leapt out of the shadows on either side of him, quinque raised. The masked man reacted quicker than expected though, and dropped into a sweeping kick aimed at the two investigators legs. Urie was fast enough to jump over the attack, but Shirazu was an instant to slow and was knocked off his feet.

Urie looked to press his attack, but the Savior wasn't done. Coming out of his spin, he caught Shirazu by his left leg and swung the red haired investigator into his comrade. The two men fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs. But the Quinx squad had come prepared.

"Now Saiko!"

On her mentors order Saiko dropped from her position in the rafters and fell towards the ghoul. With a fierce roar she unleashed her kagune in mid- air, a colossal insectoid-like tentacle rinkaku type. The Savior managed to avoid being crushed by the massive appendage, but only just. The giant kagune smashed a huge crater into the concrete floor; and the force of the impact sent the ghoul tumbling backwards.

Sasaki chose this moment to strike, drawing his quinque and leaping from his perch in the ceiling. The white haired investigator intended to run his target through; and pin him to the ground before he could recover. But once again the masked man was once again quicker than expected. The ghoul managed to get his feet underneath him and used his backwards momentum to perform a back flip that was timed so as to hit Sasaki with a kick as he approached. The investigator was just as fast as his opponent however, and his kagune burst from his back to latch onto the beam he had just jumped from; pulling him just out of reach of the attack.

The Savior completed his flip and landed with no time to spare; as Urie had gotten back on his feet and circled around behind him. The young man intended to impale him, but the Savior jumped into the air; performing another flip to land lightly on the young man's shoulders. He then pushed off with great force; sending Urie stumbling forward, and propelling the Savior to a catwalk overlooking the factory floor.

But once again, the Quinx squad had anticipated the possibility of this action; and Mutsuki was waiting to rush the ghoul from the left as he landed. The Quinx opened his attack by throwing one of his twin dagger quinque at his opponents head. The Savior dodged the blade, which proceeded to lodge itself in the catwalk behind him. Mutsuki was right behind the thrown blade, aiming to slice open the ghoul's throat with a single slash. The Savior turned in time to avoid having his throat cut open, but still received a shallow cut beneath his jugular.

Once the dagger wielding investigator had passed by him he attempted to follow up with an attack of his own; but was thwarted when the young man plucked his thrown knife from the catwalk and spun around to slash at the ghoul again. The masked man managed to reverse his momentum and step back just as the dagger sliced through the space where his eyes had been a mere instant before. Mutsuki pressed his attack; whipping his daggers through slicing arcs as he advanced on his target. For a few moments the Savior could only block and dodge the flurry of attacks by increasingly narrow margins. Soon though he found an opening; and struck Mutsuki's left wrist on the backswing of a slash, sending the dagger tumbling down to the floor below.

With the delicate rhythm of his attacks momentarily disrupted; Mutsuki was temporarily open to attack. The Savior seized on this opportunity and lunged forward with a stomping kick aimed at the young man's chest. Mutsuki managed to get his arms up in a hasty block, but the force behind the kick still launched him all the way back across the catwalk to slam into the wall behind him; leaving a large dent in the metal. The investigator winced in pain before opening his eyes to see the Savior sprinting toward him; ready to deliver a finishing blow. As the ghoul neared, a sword flew through the air and imbedded itself in the catwalk between Mutsuki and the Savior. Sasaki followed an instant later; landing on the hilt of his sword and lashing out at the advancing ghoul with a kick. The masked ghoul ducked under the attack and leapt backwards; putting some space between him and the investigators.

Sasaki hopped down off his sword before pulling it from the floor of the catwalk and leveling it at the Savior, "Are you alright Mutsuki?"

The younger investigator got to his feet and stood in a low stance behind his mentor, "Yes, I'm fine."

Sasaki nodded, "Good. Back me up!"

With that Sasaki charged forward; attacking his opponent with a flurry of slashes and thrusts that the Savior could barely avoid. Just as the masked ghoul thought he had found an opening, a slender quinque darted in from one of the white haired investigators blind spots; slicing open his right arm. The hit caused him to stumble; and he couldn't completely dodge a sword thrust that tore a gash in his left shoulder. He soon realized what had happened. The young man behind the white haired investigator had deployed a segmented kagune, and was using it to attack the ghoul through the swordsman's blind spots.

The momentum of the fight now began to shift against the masked ghoul. Finding no openings with which to attack or retreat, the Savior could only try to dodge as many attacks as he could. But more and more strikes were finding their way through his guard; and soon the ghoul was covered in shallow cuts.

"Sassan!"

The red haired investigators cry caused the savior to look down toward the young investigator. The man had deployed what the Savior guessed to be a bikaku type kagune. A quick glance at the floor made him realize that he couldn't see the other young man whom he had used as a platform earlier. That was when he heard something land lightly behind him. Their plan then dawned him. They aimed to block his means of retreat and let the bikaku type riddle him with projectiles.

"Do it now!"

On the white haired investigator's command, Shirazu fired his projectiles at the Savior. The masked ghoul had managed to come up with a crude plan of action in the space between his figuring out the investigators plan, and them putting it into action.

Sasaki lunged forward with another thrust; but to his surprise, this time the ghoul didn't even try to dodge. Instead he let the blade pierce him as he instead moved to catch the eyepatch investigators kagune mid-attack. Sasaki's momentum carried him forward as his sword went further into his opponent's body. The Savior got a foot up and checked the investigators movement just as the tip of the blade came out of his back. The ghoul pushed Sasaki backwards into Mutsuki and then pulled hard on the younger man's kagune; pulling both him and Sasaki forward, into the path of Shirazu's projectiles. The Savior then leapt over the two investigators; landing behind them.

Sasaki realized the ghouls plan too late to stop him. Now his only choice was whether to take all the projectiles himself, or let his pupil take some of the attack. For Sasaki there was no choice at all. He angled his body so as to put himself between the projectiles and Mutsuki. The four shots all struck home, piercing Sasaki in the chest and stomach. The white haired investigator coughed up blood and sagged forward, nearly falling over the railing.

Mutsuki grabbed his teacher before this could happen, "Sasaki-san!"

The Savior watched the scene in front of him play out for a moment. When he turned to go though, he found himself face to face with Saiko's hammer quinque. The young girl had made her way up to the catwalk to help flank the ghoul when she saw Sasaki get hit. Now she brought her hammer down with all her might onto the Savior's face.

"Bastard!" she yelled as she swung.

The momentum of the attack carried the young woman past her opponent. For his part the Savior fell to one knee. Fragments of his mask fell to the floor with an audible tinkling sound. He shakily got to his feet and turned his head to look back upon the investigators. Saiko's attack had shattered the top half of his mask, and split open a gash on his head that was now bleeding freely.

But the part of the image that burned itself in Sasaki's mind was the sight of the ghoul's kakugan. Namely the fact that he had only one of them.

The Savior stared back at the wounded investigator for a moment longer before leaping into the rafters and exiting the building through a skylight.

Through the haze of his wounds and his surprise, Sasaki registered that his team had gathered around him and were inquiring as to the state of his wellbeing.

As an answer, Sasaki got up and began to rip the spikes out of his body.

"Don't let him get away."


End file.
